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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



25 



persons to different plants. The editor starts out by saying 

 that shamrock is "the tiny-leaved wood-sorrel (Oxalis Aeeto- 

 sella), bunches of which are worn in the button-hole of patri- 

 otic Irishmen on every St. Patrick's day." Then "An Irish 

 Reader " says shamrock bears a yellow, not a white, flower, 

 and is trifolium mitmm T. major, preferably the former. Then 

 others mix in the discussion, and besides the plant named, 

 the term shamrock is applied to white clover, white honey- 

 suckle, black med\ck, Trif (Mum procumbeus a,Q(i T. flUfoTtne. 

 The editor finally agrees that every one may select his own 

 shamrock, giving first choice to the Irish. 



Xhe PJe-w Union "Vote for General Manager and 

 Treasurer, with six as a Board of Directors, which was taken 

 1q December, resulted as follows, 141 ballots being cast: 



For General Manager and Tteasurer— Hon. Eugene 

 Secor, 127 votes. 



For Board of Directors— Dr. C. C. Miller, 126 votes ; 

 C. P. Dadant, 120; Hon. E. Whitcomb, 119; W. Z. Hutch- 

 inson. 119 ; Ernest R. Root, 116 ; and Rev. E. T. Abbott, 86. 



It will be noted that all are re-elections. Mr. P. H. 

 Elwood received 50 votes for the position of Director, he be- 

 ing named by Mr. W. F. Marks, in Gleanings for Dec. 15, 

 the latter gentleman thinking that New York State should be 

 represented in the Board of Directors. We also would have 

 been glad to have urged Mr. Elwood's election through the 

 Bee Journal had the suggestion been made in time. He is an 

 able man as well as a large and practical bee-keeper, and 

 would make a capital member of the Board. Why not let his 

 Dame stand as a candidate next time ? 



Svreet Clover.— In the California Cultivator Prof. 

 A. J. Cook is askt several questions about this plant, among 

 them as to whether farmers can afford to let it spread. A part 

 of his reply reads thus : 



" I have grown sweet clover for years for bee-feed in 

 Michigan. It is very excellent as a honey-plant. The quality 

 and amount of honey from it is rarely surpast. I never could 

 get my horses or cows to eat it. I think it is worthless except 

 for bees. I never found it difficult to get rid of it." 



Just how Prof. Cook could say of sweet clover that he 

 " thinks it is worthless except for bees," after all we have 

 publisht In the Bee Journal in its favor as a forage and hay 

 plant, is more than we can understand. It would seem that 

 we have given sufficient from those who have had large ex- 

 perience with it, to establish beyond successful contradiction 

 the value of sweet clover to the farmer aside from Its use as a 

 honey-plant. Can it be that Prof. Cook has failed to read 

 what has been publisht along this line ? 



Holding the position he does in the estimation of Califor- 

 nia farmers and others, we don't think Prof. Cook can afford 

 to let It go out that he even '• thinks" that sweet clover " is 

 worthless except for bees." We hope he will follow closely 

 the discussion on sweet clover in the report of the North- 

 western convention now being publisht in these columns. Mr. 

 M. M. Baldridge could also give a good many valuable pointers 

 on this subject. 



The Bbk-Kekpers' Review for December came printed 

 on better paper, with a new, neat faced type, and other indi- 

 cations of prosperity. Editor Hutchinson is doing his share 

 toward keeping bis paper abreast of the procession. 



Mr. E. L. Carrington, a queen-breeder in Walton Co., 

 Fla., wrote us Jan. 2, that his wife, Mary Carrington, had 

 past away Dec. 27, 1897, after a lingering illness of four 

 years. We know from personal letters received from Mr. 

 Carrington the past few years that he has had quite a struggle, 

 and that his wife was a great sufferer. We extend to our be- 

 reaved fellow-worker our deepest sympathy in his great loss^ 

 a dear wife — Heaven's best gift to man. 



Mr. G. M. Doolittlb, of Onondaga Co., N. Y., writing 

 us Jan. 4, had this to say : 



"Our winter has been quite severe of late; but prior to 

 Christmas it was open and fine weather the most of the time. 

 We have about eight Inches of snow, if it could have staid as 

 it fell, but it is plied up in the roads and behind fences on 

 account of the many high winds we have had. The mercury 

 toucht 7- below zero last night, but it is warming up now un- 

 der a strong south wind which Is keeping the air full of whirl- 

 ing snow." 



Mr. David N. Ritchey, of Franklin Co., Ohio, writing 

 us Jan. 5, said : 



" I have been confined to my bed for eight weeks, with 

 erysipelas, but am getting better slowly. I have not been 

 able to perform any work since I came back from Buffalo." 



Eight weeks is a long time to be laid up, and especially 

 for so naturally active a man as Mr. Ritchey. We shall not 

 soon forget the lively part he took at the Buffalo convention, 

 especially In the singing. It did us good to see how he really 

 enjoyed the musical part of the meeting. We trust Mr. R. 

 may soon be fully recovered, for he's too valuable a man to be 

 laid on his back. 



Hon. J. M. Hambaugh, our Illinois friend who removed 

 to Southern California about two years ago, has met with sore 

 affliction in the loss of his little boy, who died the day before 

 Christmas. Mr. G. F. Merriam, a neighbor bee-keeper, wrote 

 us as follows about it, on Christmas Day : 



"This Is a very sad Christmas for our friend, J. M. Ham- 

 baugh and family, for their youngest child, a very bright and 

 promising boy of 4 years, lies dead at their home down the 

 valley. He died yesterday forenoon, of pneumonia, being 

 sick only 3 or 4 days. We go to-morrow to the funeral, and 

 all his neighbors will go to testify their warmest sympathy for 

 the family in their affliction." 



Surely, Mr. Hambaugh has the heartfelt sympathy of his 

 thousands of friends in this great bereavement that has come 

 to him. Many of us know just how sad his heart is, for have 

 we not past through a similar sorrow ? But the thought that 

 some sweet day there'll be a reunion of separated hearts, 

 brings cheer and comfort to the sorrowing. 



Editor E. R. Root, of Gleanings, some thought at the 

 Buffalo convention resembled another member of that meet- 

 ing, Mr. D. W. Heise, of Canada, or vice versa. After refer- 

 ring to this, and the comment we made thereon in these col- 

 umns some time ago. Editor Root says this in Gleanings for 

 Dec. 15 : 



" By the way, this is not the only instance of mistaken 

 identity at the Buffalo convention. Two men, of about the 

 same size and height, who attended, lookt decidedly alike; 

 when the two sat near each other it was almost Impossible to 

 tell which from t'other. One was a quiet, genial, pleasant 

 man ; the other was always bobbing to his feet, and making 

 himself notoriously disagreeable— always throwing out objec- 

 tions, and never harmonizing with the discussion. I said to 

 the first-mentioned person, after I had learned to distinguish 

 one from the other, 'Why, you look almost exactly like .' 



" ' I am not flattered,' said he. ' I have no sympathy with 

 his ways of doing. Such men are always a bore to a conven- 

 tion, and a drag to good discussion.' " 



Yes, and we were also remarking about the resemblance 

 to that "quiet, genial, pleasant man," when he said he felt 

 like going home long before the convention closed, as soon as 

 ho learned that he was being mistaken for the one "making 

 himself notoriously disagreeable." And we didn't blame the 

 first gentleman for wanting to get as far away as he could 

 from his disagreeable "double." Perhaps it was kind for the 

 convention to endure as much as It did from the disturber, but 

 it certainly was not, just to those who had come a long way to 

 listen to helpful discussions. We hope that hereafter there 

 may be no more disturbing elements present. 



